Start-Up GlobeIn Gives Third-World Artisans a Way to Connect With Shoppers

Megan Durisin, Global Post

Monday, 8 Apr 2013 | 11:08 AM ETGlobal Post

SHARES

Source: Globein.com

The art group "Petrov Dom" (Petrov`s House) consists of three members: Galina Petrova, master of folk crafts of the Vologda region, and her followers, Lidia Petrova and Inna Zueva. Petrov Dom is part of Globein's artisan online community.

"We work with people in remote areas who normally might not have access to the internet, or are prohibited by language or technology barriers from participating in the online marketplace," said GlobeIn CEO Vladimir Ermakov.

The project initially launched in December 2011, when Ermakov's partner, Anastasia Miron, hopped on a bus to Mexico and started helping local artists sell their wares online, he said. The model began expanding to other countries, and this year, they decided to invest to start an online marketplace of their own.

Ermakov is an engineer, holding a master's in robotics from Carnegie Mellon. But he became interested in the microlending movement, in which people in developing countries are lent a small amount of money to start their business. Now, the company is focused on using technology to help artisans take their budding businesses one step further.

"We see ourselves as a missing link to help them once they've started [to grow] their business," he said.

Most of the artisans on GlobeIn were discovered by traveling to regional marketplaces or through organizations that have relationships with them, Ermakov added. Profiles of each artisan are posted alongside their wares online.